The void: Beyond the lands of Hydaelyn.

[Teknoman]

Had no idea phurbles were classified as voidsent...but I guess you cant tell a book by its cover.

[AmyNeudaiz]

Firstly the Ascians command the voidsent. Throughout the story Lahabrea summons voidsent directly from the Void to fight you and the voidsent quite clearly show no agression to the Ascian that summoned them.

I just wanna take this snip out and give a reminder that the Ascians aren't the only ones who have summoned voidsent to fight for them. In a few story lines there were members of the five races that summon voidsent to fight for them. For example, the final Gladiator quest and the final Paladin quest would be two that I can remember off the top of my head.

Though this doesn't explicitly prove that it wasn't Ascians, as they could possibly been behind it all anyway, it's worth noting.

[RolandDebreton]

Had no idea phurbles were classified as voidsent...but I guess you cant tell a book by its cover.

Also, don't forget, just because its called Voidsent by Eorzeans doesn't mean its descended from the void, just that its, too strange to be of this world. I have yet to see a phurble come from the void, however ashkin, undead - perfectly normal to Eorzeans, have. We've long been plagued by these most peculiar classifications.

[Anonymoose]

Also, don't forget, just because its called Voidsent by Eorzeans doesn't mean its descended from the void, just that its, too strange to be of this world. I have yet to see a phurble come from the void, however ashkin, undead - perfectly normal to Eorzeans, have. We've long been plagued by these most peculiar classifications.

Getting to the bottom of it is likely an un-complete-able chore; we're given vague and seemingly contradictory information to both invalidate things we thought we knew (thus keeping the game's religious matters mysterious, as religious matters are meant to be) yet possibly help us narrow down the possibilities without blatant contradictions.

For instance, here's the release lore for the NM Bomb Baron:

Feared around the realm for reducing all it touches to ash, the Bomb Baron pursues its prey with a passion hotter than the whitest forge. Legend says this abomination was once an adventurer who made his name culling thousands upon thousands of bombs across Eorzea, until one day a stray bomb caught him unawares and he died of burns rendered by the voidsent's timely explosion. Upon hearing of the soul's arrival in the fiery depths of the sixth hell, the Bomb King snatched it up and used ash from his own body to resurrect the adventurer as a bomb. He dubbed the creation the "Bomb Baron" and sent him back to Eorzea, telling him that his soul would suffer eternal torment until he had taken the lives of as many adventurers as he had bombs.

Yet...

The "void" <...> is different from the heavens (where the Twelve reside) and the seven hells (one of the destinations to which those who do not follow the teachings of Nald'thal believe the body goes upon death)

Things that make you go "Hmmm." OR Maybe Eorzeans are just full of shite about Bomb Baron.

Another Example:
In the THM storyline, the masters of the guild have you take the final trial of the Yawning Abyss - that which tests the limit of your abilities as a Thaumaturge. They speak of wave after wave of voidsent breaking on you, and the mobs are named Void Herald, Void Dross, and Void Jumper. It's a bat, a slug, and a gnat. So - are voidsent entities possessing normal mobs? Are voidsent aethers manifesting as local mobs? Or are you just in damp a cave with a bunch of superstitious lalafell who are training to face a succubus?

[RolandDebreton]

The superstitious lalafel... At first I thought, "Yeah, these fellows are afraid of their own shadows and their experience with the void is in tomes and scolls." Then it occurred to me they send us after Monmo's vessel. They do know what they are about. I did take the voidsent from the shrine at face value, so who knows.

I wonder about the Bomb Baron legend and the Furne bomb. Both are delivered in a very subjective tone, revealing more about Eorzea's collective mythos than a definitive cosmological description of the metaphysical realms affiliated with Hydaelyn.

A fantasy setting like this really does afford them the chance to use those to pave the way to the universe however. Sort of how we hear the dreamy tale of Altana's tears/her children and the celestial gate and realm... which sorta turns out but includes a whole lot of cold reality in ffxi.

[Kyan]

On the notion of summoning voidsent: By the effort put into item text and in some cases, quests, are we considering mount information and minions as canon and lore?

We are all capable of summoning voidsent for our personal bidding - our ahriman mount for example. Each time we strike out tuning fork, are we tearing a rift between worlds? Well it says so on the item description.

A metal tuning fork that, when struck, emits a low tone which opens a temporary rift in the void, allowing your personal ahriman─and your personal ahriman only─to pass through to this plane.

Although, this is in contradiction (slightly) to the "Ahriman" mount action text which reads:

Summon forth a riding ahriman, bound to this realm with powerful magic's guaranteed to never fade.

Also, what are the implications of Infant Imp, and other voidsent minions? Are we summoning them from the void, or something else? Here is a couple that made me think on wider lore implications.

Summon your cherry bomb minion-a miniature recreation of a voidsent bomb, created via the thaumaturgical rendering of umbral charged ethereal energy. Guaranteed never to self-destruct, or your money back.

Summon your infant imp minion. Hopes that one day, he will rule the seven hells. But for now, your backside will do.

[Skies]

The Voidal Resonator and the Ahriman mount themselves are different entieties, however.
With the Voidal Resonator you basically bring him from the void to here (item description), and proceed to bind him to your will (mount description). From which point, he'd be summoned to your side much akin to how your other mounts would, you call for him, and he finds you. Certainly in this case is more using your binding magic to call him than sound like other mounts but still.

The Cherry Bomb definitely looks like it's artificial, like some sort of doll that's more bomb-ish by using similar energies but still a doll, while the Infant Imp is... He's just kinda hanging around, not like you summon him form the void all the time he's just around and you call him to your side, remember we find him in an area overrun with voidsent, if memory serves me well.

[Kyan]

The Voidal Resonator and the Ahriman mount themselves are different entieties, however.

Good point, and I looked at it this way too. However, I kind of thought that things like the "chocobo whistle" and the "voidal resonator" were what we are using, the sounds we make, when we call the mount (I remember in Beta having to click the whistle to use it, hehe. I left in 1.0 before you could obtain a chocobo - what was the situation there?).

As per the cherry bomb - it is not a "voidsent" but an artificial one, like a doll, yes. What I found interesting is the text I bolded - that thaumaturgy can render umbral charged ethereal energy into a (recreation of a) voidsent. Perhaps Eorzeans who "summon" voidsent are in fact creating them from Eorzean aether, and not calling them from the void? Or perhaps they are calling them from the void because magic? I don't know! Just adding things I found interesting to the conversation.

In regards to the imp - so cute and snuggly with his angry face - I found the link between him being voidsent and the Seven Hells interesting considering what we know about the two places being separate, at least in theory.

[DoctaruRavenbe]

I actually find that people attributing anything unnatural to the void to be a rather refreshing relief in the game. Granted as a lore junkie I want to know what is and is not of the void to be discovered by us. But the local NPCs who are not in the scholarly studies? sure. Still all this void talk makes me wonder if we're going to be seeing a version of a certain void-obsessed sentient Tree Wizard...

[RolandDebreton]

I actually find that people attributing anything unnatural to the void to be a rather refreshing relief in the game. Granted as a lore junkie I want to know what is and is not of the void to be discovered by us. But the local NPCs who are not in the scholarly studies? sure. Still all this void talk makes me wonder if we're going to be seeing a version of a certain void-obsessed sentient Tree Wizard...

I'd be floored if a certain mystical forest with sealed evil like Amdapor didn't eventally produce a rocking cameo.